Yum, Food!

Today started with the Gourmet Walking Tour. This was a 2 hour tour that explained Catalan food, told us about some very traditional dishes, took us to the Boqueria Market and some establishments that sell traditional foods, and ended with a drink and 2 tapas. It was very interesting, and best of all they gave us a little map of the walk so we can find our way back to all the tasty looking food!

After the tour ended, it was lunch time. I headed to the Taller de Tapas location we'd passed, where I had a glass of wine, a glass (yes, a glass!) of gazpacho, and sardines. I'd had sardines in Lisbon and these were done the same way, and were just as tasty.

After lunch I headed for the espadrille store, but it was closed so I wandered the old town until it opened. I got a pair of cute espadrilles once they did! Then, to the cheese store owned by theScottish woman. She was very hospitable and gave me tastes of several cheeses, then we chatted politics for about 30 minutes! Too fun.

Having bought cheese, I headed back to the Boqueria to collect the rest of tonight's dinner: Iberico ham. The bread place was closed so I stopped in a little bread place on the way to the cathedral, and got a mini loaf and some kind of yummy chocolate filled thing that I immediately devoured.

Next stop: the cathedral. I'd done the tour earlier in the day; nowI was here for the Sardana, a traditional Catalan dance that, like everything Catalan, was banned under the Franco regime. I am such a dork - watching the groups dancing, I got all choked up by the beauty of their persistence in preserving their culture, and the joy in being able to openly share it.

After watching the dance, I ran back to the hotel to have my dinner and change before heading to a Spanish guitar concert at Palau Musica Catalunya. This was a double bonus: a famous guitar master, Manuel Gonzalez, in an architechtural gem. It was a beautful experience, visually and aurally. And a great end to another busy day.